We're Moving - AGAIN!

Just two short years ago we moved out to Oldsmar, Florida.  We left the first weekend of October and headed east.  We had a brilliant adventure in the 8 days that it took us to drive across the country and it has been a very full two years.  Our family has grown even closer and tighter and now we are preparing to take the journey back west.  We are looking forward to another brilliant journey, visiting family and friends and seeing the sights as we go.  We are building a house in Sandy that will be nearly finished by the time we arrive.  When we were out in Utah in July, we searched for over a week before deciding to build.  Here are some pictures of the model and the lot.

Harry Potter - The Boy Who Lived

It was Saturday, October 1st.  My friend Camilla and I were delivering some General Conference packages for our sisters for visiting teaching and Marc was graciously watching all of the children.  It was the first nice and cool day in forever, so Marc opened up all of the windows and doors.  I believe all of the children have been missing gymnastics because each day their use of our home as a gym increases - more flips, more splits, more running and jumping and throwing bodies everywhere.

Campbell likes to climb to the top of a chair and he throw his body and free fall to the glass door where he would catch himself and push himself back upright.  He has done this numerous times, but always with the door shut.  He didn't realize that Marc had opened up that door so when Campbell went to do his free fall from about 8 feet up, he slammed his face into the concrete outside.

There was a lot of blood.  His forehead was just split open and just pouring out blood and his nose was bleeding and it was just running down his face and chin.  Poor Marc had all of the children and trying to stop the blood and contact me.  Coleman called me and left such a sweet little message on my cell phone.  He was very calm.  By the time I got home, about 30 minutes later, the blood had stopped gushing and all of the other kids were playing a game in the other room.  Camilla was sweet enough to stay with all of the kids while Marc and I took Campbell to the emergency room.

Campbell was so brave.  He wasn't crying.  He answered all of their questions.  They had to do a CT scan which thankfully came out normal.  Campbell's biggest fear was the stitches.  He just didn't want to get them.  So with each step of needing to do something he would ask, "Is it time for stitches?"  And I would say, "Not yet."  And he would nod and remain calm.  But when I had to say, "Yep, buddy, it is."  The tears just flowed - which made the blood start to flow - right out of his head and run down into his ears and into his hair.

The worst part was the shot.  They had to numb it of course, so they shot him about 6 times all around the cut. I was laying across his body, holding his hands and the assistant guy was holding his head still and the doctor just kept giving him shots.  One shot caused the blood to overflow and run down his face, pooling in Campbell's eyes.  This of course resulted in more screams and tears as he shouted, "It's in my eyes!  It's in my eyes!"  So I told him that they were going to clean the blood right up.  And he said, "No, the stuff is in my eyes and it's burning!!!" Poor thing.  They quickly cleared it out of his eyes and began the stitching.  Campbell was able to relax and talk about the movie Rango, which we had watched for our Movie Night and he was soon walking out the door with 5 neat stitches.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

While I was putting Cooper down for a nap, I asked Addison to play quietly.  I walked into her room to find her playing "The Monkey Game" (card game) by herself - just playing 4 different hands.  I believe it is in our genes.  I used to play games by myself all the time - Canasta, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Skip-Bo, Phase 10 - whatever suited my fancy at the time.

I'm fairly certain she has never seen me playing games by myself, so I know it just must be something within us - we just need to play games - whether there are people to play with or not.

Addison Turns 4!

This is what Addison looked like when we first moved to Florida...

Today she turns four year old...

It's all going by so fast.  She refused to speak until she was nearly 2.  She had the most withering scowl perfected by 1.  She loves her brothers and changes daily which one of them she plans to marry when she grows up.  She loves to sing and dance.  She loves to do her "homework" and is eager to learn to read.  She most recently has cut her own hair - luckily, she gave herself layers and the curls tend to hide the damage.  She is our angel, our princess, our delight.  So grateful Addison is in our lives!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDISON!!!

Hone Theme Song

I remember Ally McBeal used to be one of my favorite shows and one of the quirks was that some people have their own theme song.  I have had various theme songs throughout my life.  But we have now found a song that when played has the whole family jumping up and singing along and dancing to it.  It is just a feel good song, good beat, but the chorus is rather meaningful at this time for us. 
We kind of feel like we are living in limbo.  We love our lives here in Florida.  We have a fabulous ward, fun friends, great school - it's a good life.  We miss our life in Utah.  We miss our families, our fun friends, all that is familiar - we're excited to move back.  We get excited hearing about our new home, looking at pictures and planning for future rooms and space.  We are excited to get to know the new neighbors and ward.  But it is still a couple of months away.  We haven't even begun packing.  So, it feels a bit like we are living in two worlds: already missing Florida and can't wait to get to Utah.

Back to our Theme Song.  I first heard it last year some time and didn't give it a second thought but now - we love it.  The Hone Theme Song is: Home by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros.  It's a wacky song with wacky lyrics sung by some pretty fun loving hippies, but we really connect with the chorus.
                    

                                                           "Ah, home 

                  Let me go home 

                Home is wherever 

                   I'm with you"

We are going to really miss Florida, but we are so excited to get back to Utah.  But truly, no matter where we are - Florida - Utah - or anywhere in between - it doesn't matter.  
Home is wherever we are together, whenever we are together.  

Now play the music and dance!          

It's FINE!

Campbell had a unique take on the signs posted around Sanibel Island warning about feeding the alligators.  The signs read, "$500 Fine" with pictures showing to not feed the alligators.  Campbell looked at it and said, "So, you just have to pay $500 and then it's fine to feed the alligators.  That's a lot of money to feed an alligator."

Jesus in My Pocket

On the first day of school, Coleman took a picture he had of Jesus Christ and he put it in his pocket.  He told me what he had done and said, "This way, if I feel nervous, or people are being mean to me or if I'm sad or scared at all - I'll be ok.  I'll just reach in to my pocket, feel the picture and think 'Oh Yeah, I've got Jesus in my pocket.  He's always with me so everything is ok."

After school, when he got home, he pulled the picture out of his pocket, grinned and said, "It worked. I think I'm going to do it every day."  I love that kid. 

Friday Night

Friday Night - otherwise known as Pizza and a Movie Night has become our family's very most favorite night of the week.  It started innocently enough of picking up our items at the library and talking things over with our favorite librarian, Craig.  I mentioned we were picking up a pizza and watching a movie and he asked if it was our tradition.  I smiled and said, "I think it might just become one."  Little did I know how much we would come to treasure these nights. 

For one thing - I know that I don't have to cook.  That is a triple bonus in my book.  I also give myself a freebie for the night so there is no pressure to do any cleaning of any kind.  Marc puts away work and we all just relax and watch the movie together. 

We've enjoyed introducing the kids to such "classics" as: E.T., Innerspace, The World's Greatest Athlete, Sister Act, Harry Potter, etc., etc., etc. (Can't wait to show them The King and I).  The movie might be one of the new movies that came in from reserve at the library or one that I loved as a kid or just some random movie that had a cool cover.  The kids don't seem to care - they just want to watch - all of us together as a family. 

I should clarify that Pizza and a Movie means that you must eat it like a picnic in the living room with blankets and of course root beer.  Pizza really needs to go down with some root beer - and it tastes even better in a bottle. And the kids get to use special glasses for theirs. That is also a must. Of course, after the pizza, we have to break out the treats.  Popcorn, chocolate, licorice - those are the general staples.

On very, very, very special occasions, we have Sleepover Pizza and a Movie nights.  We all snuggle up in our bed (thank heavens we have a king size now) and we watch our movie.  We bring in the blow up bed for the boys and we have an extra bed in Cooper's room (which is part of our room) that Addie sleeps in and after the movie we all go to sleep.  We've even been known to do a double header but I think Coleman was the only one who made it through both movies. 

What started out as a much needed break one night has evolved into our family's true treasure.  Every single one of us has become quite reticent to mess with our new tradition.  Our friends have come to appreciate and understand that we are just unavailable on Friday nights.  Marc and I save our date nights for Saturdays.  We've shared our Pizza and a Movie nights on occasion with other families but prefer to keep it just the six of us.  Which has resulted in a few of our friends creating their own Pizza and a Movie night.  Craig had no idea what he started.
Our Campbell is by far the most devoted member of our family to this tradition.  Pizza is for Friday nights.  We don't eat ANYTHING else.  It HAS to be pizza.  We don't do Pizza and a Movie night on Saturday - it's always Friday.  Now, we have strayed on occasion but rest assured - this has resulted in tears and promises to keep it the same as often as possible. 

Last night as we were all spooning each other - yes, all six of us were spooning in that big ol' king bed, and we were watching Hoodwinked (getting ready to see the sequel - whenever it finally comes in).  Pizza was eaten and put away and we were snacking on popcorn and chocolate covered raisins and every once in awhile one of the kids would give an extra squeeze around the neck or lean over for a kiss on the cheek and say, "I love our family." Or "Isn't this the best?"  Or Addison's favorite of late, "Jesus chose the right Mom for me."  There were lots of giggles and just sighs of contentment and Marc and I agreed - Friday nights are the best night EVER.

One Year Old

He didn't officially arrive until nearly midnight on July 29, 2010 but we've been celebrating his first birthday all day.  He weighed 8 lbs and was 21 inches long.  12 months, 15 lbs, 8 inches and 6 teeth later we have our little chunky monkey with his lovely curly locks.  He jumped up to 20 lbs by 4 months old and was outgrowing his clothes each week but as he has become more and more mobile, he has slimmed down quite a bit.  My back is grateful but it breaks my heart to see his chubby little cheeks shrink.  And his delicious thighs are not quite as chubby but he is still a yummy little dumpling.

We were lucky to be out in Utah just before his birthday and celebrated with family and friends there.  Today was a fun family celebration with presents, balloons and of course our pizza and a movie night.
We love Cooper and couldn't imagine our lives without him.  His deep belly laugh is just what I need to perk my spirits and although thus far he is resisting the sign language, he has definitely got the language of love.  He loves to give hugs and kisses and knows the difference between the two.  Our family is one big ball of love these days.

What a wonderful year...

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY COOPER!!!!

Pool Party

Birthday parties have been a bit different out here in Florida than we were used to in Utah.  Generally, everyone in the class got invited, it was usually on a Sunday, and it was NEVER at someone's home.  As a family, we've decided that other than family gatherings, attending a birthday party on a Sunday isn't keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  So, our kids have missed out on the majority of the parties while we've lived here.  And we've been reluctant to have kid parties for our children out here.  We weren't sure how people felt about home birthday parties, and these other places are quite expensive.  So, we've done excursions as a family.  A trip to Busch Gardens with breakfast with Elmo, or Disney World or Epcot with trips of course to Lego Land (not the real Lego Land, just the store, but our kids think it is the real deal).  But this year, Coleman begged to have a true Birthday Party.

It was quite sweet actually.  He started with wanting a pool party and then changed to a basketball party.  When I pointed out that we didn't have a basketball hoop, he just shrugged and said we didn't need one.  He just used the tree out front.  Apparently, it has a nice gap that is a perfect fit for a basketball.  When I told Marc, he had similar tales to share of when he was a little boy.  You know what they say: apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  We ended up going with the pool party.  We got some new pool toys which was the most thrilling part for Campbell and Addison and we hurried with invitations.

Coleman had invited all of the boys from his class, which resulted in 8 invitations being sent out and 3 boys coming to the party.  It didn't help that I had neglected to put on the invitation our address.  I blame the 2 hours that I stood wrestling Cooper and negotiating with Addison while making birthday invites and Baptism announcements.  But it ended up being the perfect size.  The boys all had a blast and the parents all bonded.  The food was delicious and it was one of the most relaxing birthday parties we've ever had.

I had asked Coleman, other than the boys from his class at school, if he wanted to invite anyone else.  I was thinking of church or neighborhood boys.  He wanted his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Williamson.  When I told her, thinking she would find it cute, she readily accepted.  She came and the boys were all thrilled.  What a fantastic and supportive teacher!

 Coleman was very excited to decorate his own cake this year.  He made a "pool" with blue frosting and then added a bunch of his action figures to "play in the pool".  He even put frosting over some of the figures to show that the "water" was splashing up on them.  I was quite proud of my little Cake Boss.

 We attempted to light the candles which was completely unsuccessful.  We also had a #8 sparkler which did light so Coleman held it while we sang and then he made a wish as it sparkled.  It ended up being pretty cool.  Glad to know that he can make the best of a imperfect situation.

                                                          We love Mrs. Williamson!

 These crazy kids had such a great time and are all such good friends.  We're so grateful that Coleman has made such fun friends down here.

Happy Birthday Coleman!

Ain't It Great to be 8!

The first little snuggle bug, who made me a mother for the very first time 8 very short years ago, is still as adorable, loving and precious as the first moment I held him in my arms. 

 Reminiscing with Marc about the day we brought Coleman home from the hospital and sat him in his car seat down by the couch and then just stared at him and each other thinking, "What do we do now?"  Answer: Take a nap while Nana kept an eye on the sleeping little love bug.

For the last year, Coleman has excelled academically and physically.  He is more spiritual and has become even more my right hand man at the house.  Marc keeps telling me that I don't want to be one of "those mothers".  The ones who brag about their kids and are always one upping other mothers etc.  Here's the deal.  I'm very proud of my kids.  I am more than aware of their struggles and imperfections but I am thrilled with who they are and what they have already accomplished in their young lives.  And here, on our family blog,  I plan to "brag" and "praise" my kids all over the place.  I'm sure there will also be lots of venting of frustrations as well.  Consider yourself forewarned.

A walk down memory lane with Coleman...

Happy 8th Birthday My Sweet Coleman!